From 9bc8e365dd373946531a9711e5c651dc65d15be3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: verlamacfarlan Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2025 22:57:39 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Combat Drought In Kenya --- ...wers-Farmers-to-Combat-Drought-In-Kenya.md | 40 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 40 insertions(+) create mode 100644 Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Combat-Drought-In-Kenya.md diff --git a/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Combat-Drought-In-Kenya.md b/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Combat-Drought-In-Kenya.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2db6416 --- /dev/null +++ b/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Combat-Drought-In-Kenya.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +
By Nita Bhalla
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KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it needs to be a joke when he was informed he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, easily and effectively using a pump sustained by cotton waste.
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"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" chuckled Mathoka, bending down to [examine](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.
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"But it works," he said, [strolling](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) over to a nearby tree and [plucking](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) a large [green pawpaw](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile). "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get higher yields, particularly throughout drought periods."
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stated his revenues had doubled in the 2 years he has actually been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre more affordable than regular diesel.
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The [biodiesel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) he is utilizing is not simply great news for him - it is likewise excellent news for the world.
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Unlike many biofuels, which are [derived](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making process.
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That means that along with being cleaner and more affordable than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no additional land is needed to produce it.
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From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) crops has actually driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - intensifying food shortages.
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"Our biodiesel originates from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said Taher Zavery, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based business producing the biodiesel.
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"We started producing and using it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now use it for our trucks, offer it to the United Nations to run some of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for irrigation."
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More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually so far invested in [biodiesel pumps](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) for watering as part of an initiative released by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.
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DRY RIVER BEDS
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Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and increasingly erratic weather condition is ending up being commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.
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The recurring droughts are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing millions of people in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe hunger.
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The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food aid in March rose by practically 70 percent over a duration of eight months to 1.1 million, mostly due to bad rains, according to federal government [figures](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/).
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With almost [half Kenya's](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) 47 counties declared to have a severe shortage of rain, humanitarian companies are alerting of increased hunger in the months ahead.
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"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to reduce dry spell in affected locations of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.
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"Well below-average crop production, poor livestock body conditions, and increased regional food prices are expected, which will decrease bad families' access to food."
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In Kitui's Kyuso location, the signs are already obvious.
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Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the prolonged drought.
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Villagers experience travelling longer ranges - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty [jerry cans](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) searching for water.
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Small-scale farmers, most of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, go over [strategies](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) to offer their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is bad.
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BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL
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But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.
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A little however growing number are shedding their burden of dependence on the weather - and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed [biodiesel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than three years ago.
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Neighbouring farmers band together to invest in the watering system - which consists of the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.
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The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free [monthly instalments](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) until the total is paid off. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.
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Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the biodiesel pump permitted him to water a bigger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a [variety](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) of veggies including maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.
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"With a diesel pump, maize yields were lower and I would get 15,000 shillings in 3 months. With the biodiesel pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo town, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.
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CIRCULAR ECONOMY
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Other farmers point to the plan as a major benefit in helping enhance their output.
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"The instalment scheme is great. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not easily get a loan to buy a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) pump.
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"Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are excellent which suggests we can settle the cost of the pump gradually in little quantities, and have money left over to pay the school fees."
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Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early stages, with few [farmers](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) having actually repaid the complete expense of the pumps.
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But such [biofuel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) plans are appealing because they create a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) for profit, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.
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The simpleness of the design - easy-to-use, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might assist energize rural Africa, he said.
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"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives worldwide. The key problem is evaluating ideas and approaches in a collective style," said Sanyal.
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"Other cotton ginning factories in the region ought to try and learn from this experiment. Financial organizations must start explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors need to support experimentation."
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($1 = 101.3000 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and [climate](https://www.abnnewswire.net/companies/en/31347/%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%97-Mission-NewEnergy-%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94.html/4) change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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